Sulfur melting apparatus and method

Abstract

A high efficiency sulfur melting system includes a melting vat having a heated platen. The platen has a waffled surface. A piston exerts pressure on powdered sulfur contained in the melting vat, forcing the powdered sulfur into intimate contact with the surface of the heated platen. The platen contains a large number of seepage holes. Powdered sulfur in intimate contact with the surface of the heated platen melts. The melted sulfur is immediately forced into the seepage holes by pressure from the piston. The melted sulfur is forced through the seepage holes into a collecting device.

I claim: 
     
       1. A system for rapidly melting prilled or granular solid sulfur, said system comprising in combination: (a) a chamber into which a predetermined amount of said solid sulfur can be loaded, said chamber being bounded at one end by a bounding surface;   (b) force producing means for applying force tending to compress said solid sulfur in said chamber, forcing pieces of said solid sulfur against said bounding surface, said force producing means including a piston and means for forcing said piston against said solid sulfur, said means for forcing said piston causing said piston to exert at least approximately five pounds per square inch on solid sulfur in said chamber;   (c) heating means for heating a first portion of said bounding surface to a temperature which causes melting of solid sulfur pieces pressed against said first portion of said bounding surface to produce liquid sulfur, said first portion of said bounding surface having first and second sets of parallel grooves therein producing a waffled surface, the grooves of said first set being non-parallel to the grooves of said second set, there being a sufficient number of said grooves, and each of said grooves being sufficiently deep, to effectuate a predetermined rate of transfer of heat from said bounding surface to solid sulfur in said chamber;   (d) a plurality of seepage holes in said grooves in said first portion of said bounding surface, said force forcing said liquid sulfur out of said chamber through said seepage holes to allow more of said solid sulfur to be pressed against said first portion of said bounding surface and melted by heat from said first portion of said bounding surface, said force producing means being sufficiently great in diameter, and there being a sufficiently large number of said seepage holes disposed sufficiently close to each other to ensure that the low thermal conductivity of melted sulfur between said first portion of a bounding surface and said solid surface of said bounding surface does not substantially insulate said pieces of solid sulfur from heat conducted from said first portion of said bounding surface, wherein said piston has an inner surface containing a plurality of grooves to increase surface area of said piston contacting solid sulfur in said chamber, said system including second heating means for heating said piston; and   (e) means for heating the walls of said chamber, said walls containing a plurality of grooves to increase the surface area of said walls contacting solid sulfur in the chamber to improve transfer of heat from said heated walls to said sulfur.   
     
     
       2. The system of claim 1 wherein said force producing means includes a pneumatic cylinder having one end coupled to a rigid support and the other end connected to said piston. 
     
     
       3. The system of claim 2 further including an insulation blanket disposed around said chamber to prevent loss of heat from said chamber. 
     
     
       4. The system of claim 1 further including liquid sulfur collecting means for receiving liquid sulfur forced out of said seepage holes in response to said forcing of said piston against said solid sulfur. 
     
     
       5. The system of claim 1 further including a plurality of seepage holes in said walls extending from bottoms of said grooves in said walls to exterior surfaces of said walls to permit sulfur melted along the inner surfaces of said walls to be forced out of said chamber through said seepage holes in said walls.